Smog likely to subside into fog this weekend: Met office

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Pic09-026 LAHORE: Nov 09 – Thick blanket of smog has continued to wreak havoc in parts of Punjab as flight and train operations remained suspended on Thursday morning. The routine activities of the public suffered a setback as fog engulfed the province. The traffic flow also got affected and created problems for the people as they failed to reach their destination on time. ONLINE PHOTO by Malik Sajjad

ISLAMABAD: Current smog in plain areas of Punjab may subside with the wet spell likely to start on the coming weekend from upper parts of the country; later expanding to other areas gradually and is expected to continue till Tuesday.

An official of Met office predicted that on Saturday, light rain may occur at Malakand, upper FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan, whereas light rain on Sunday may hit some areas, including Zhob.

He said dry weather is going to prevail elsewhere in the country with dense fog and smog in plain areas of Punjab, central and lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper Sindh.

While on Monday same weather conditions likely with an addition to light rain chances in Malakand, Quetta, Zhob, Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan division, upper FATA and Gilgit Baltistan.

However, on Tuesday, rain with a thunderstorm with snowfall over hills is expected at scattered places in upper KP, upper FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, while at isolated places in Punjab and twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

This dry spell would decrease the intensity of smog converting it into fog as the rain would reduce dust particle and other pollutants from the air, the official said. Dry weather with fog will continue elsewhere in the country, the official added.

Mainly dry weather is expected in most parts of the country, whereas dense fog/smog conditions would grip Punjab and fog over Dera Ismail Khan, Peshawar and Sukkur divisions during the night and morning hours.

Continental air is prevailing over most parts of the country, an official of Met office told APP.

In the last 24 hours, the weather remained dry in most parts of the country. However, dense foggy conditions prevailed over most plain areas of Punjab, while foggy conditions prevailed in DI Khan, Sukkur and Peshawar divisions.

Minimum temperatures recorded on Thursday were Skardu -01°C, Kalat  00°C, Gilgit, Quetta 02°C,

Dir 03°C, Chitral 04°C, Murree 07°C, Muzaffarabad, Islamabad 10°C, Peshawar, Faisalabad 12°C,

Multan, Lahore 13°C, Hyderabad 18°C and Karachi 20°C.